'Heavy police reinforcements' drafted in to roads around Interlagos after Mercedes and FIA incidents; Lewis Hamilton calls on the sport to do more in future; Sauber team in fresh incident leaving circuit on Saturday night
Thursday 16 November 2017 10:38, UK
Security at the Brazilian GP has been tightened in the wake of the armed robbery of Mercedes team members leaving the circuit on Friday night.
Gunmen held up a minibus carrying Mercedes personnel and stole valuables, while a car carrying FIA officials was also threatened. No one was harmed in either incident.
Mercedes bus robbed at gunpoint
The FIA issued a statement on Saturday night confirming an increased security presence from local police and have advised people to take all necessary precautions when travelling to and from the circuit on race day.
"The circuit has informed all of the event stakeholders that the Sao Paulo police force has taken additional measures after these regrettable incident," read a statement.
"Heavy police reinforcements will be on duty for the remainder of the event."
However, Sauber strategist Ruth Buscombe reported a fresh incident on Saturday night when the team's crew left the circuit and narrowly avoided another apparent attempted robbery:
While Brazil is one of the sport's most popular and vibrant races, incidents of F1 personnel being targeted on the roads outside the circuit are not uncommon.
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, who was not travelling in the vehicle that was targeted, said F1 collectively needed to do more to ensure all members of the paddock were able to travel safely.
"I was horrified to hear what had happened," he said.
"I'm very close with all the guys that got pulled aside and you can't imagine what they were feeling or going through at the time.
"After that, the most frustrating thing is I've been in Formula 1 for 10 years and every single year that has happened to somebody in the paddock. And it continues to happen.
"I'm sure that's an issue that the government here are fighting, but maybe on this weekend there are protocols that are put in place that help.
"It should be for the whole paddock. That's partly Formula 1's responsibility but generally people at the top need to take action to keep everyone safe. It's not good just the bosses having security and myself having security, everyone needs to be looked after."
